The Cars & Trucks That Defined PRI 2025
December 29, 2025
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DEFYING NATURE
Hi-Speed Rods & Customs Shows Us How to Make Fiberglass Rust
Author
Tommy Lee Byrd
Photography by Paul Martinez
The Appeal of Traditional Hot Rods
Traditional hot rods are all the rage, and while it’s a great experience to run across a true barn-find hot rod, some folks would rather make their own with the perfect blend of colors, textures, and just the right amount of sanding. It’s definitely a way to grab attention, as these so-called beaters steal the show from some of the finest rods around, but there’s no doubt lots of time and money is spent to obtain this look. And though some hot rodders scrounge to find parts and pieces to hang an old beater together, some high-end builders are taking the worn-and-weathered approach with their hot rods. Undoubtedly popular with most any hot rodder, the old-school look is now being transferred to fiberglass bodies, which means you get the look of old without actually worrying about rust and its effect on your car.
Hi-Speed Rods & Customs: Mastering the Patina
Hi-Speed Rods & Customs in Tucson, Arizona (520/623-1973), builds some serious hot rods in its 30,000-sq.-ft. facility, and the shop has a knack for adding patina to a car of any vintage, whether it’s steel or fiberglass. Johnny Vegas is the painter for Hi-Speed, and he knows his way around an old hot rod. While he’s laid down some gorgeous, show-winning paint jobs, he is also an expert when it comes to applying new paint that looks old. Vegas employs his own techniques to obtain a weathered appearance, and he’s not afraid to share his secrets, as he let us follow along for the entire process. The recipient of this custom paintwork is a ’34 Ford three-window coupe, but rather than starting with a rusty original, Vegas began with a slick fiberglass body. His technique produces outstanding results, and Vegas is very skilled with his pinstriping brushes, spray gun, and airbrush.
Transforming the Coupe: From Slick to Traditional
After spending a few days in the spray booth, Vegas completed the coupe and transformed it from just another street rod to a traditional hot rod that will grab tons of attention. Without question, this custom paintwork could fool anyone into thinking this is a barn-fresh coupe, but take a look at the process and you’ll see you don’t have to let your car sit in a barn for 40 years to get the same effect. All the guys at Hi-Speed Rods & Customs have their own specialties, but Vegas proved he belongs at the helm of a spray gun with his awesome skills. We can’t thank them enough for letting us follow along with the process, and we might even try it on one of our projects—well, since we’re not in Arizona, we don’t have to try to make our cars rusty.
Tips for Trying It Yourself
Either way, it’s interesting to see the coupe as it progresses from normal to outstanding, but we’re not suggesting you should tear your street rod apart to try this out. Try it on something small and see what happens, as it could take a while to complete an entire car. Whether you like real or artificial rust, you’ll like the way this coupe turned out, and you can check out more of Hi-Speed Rods & Customs’ work at www.hispeedcustoms.com if you want to take a look at its huge facility or some of the other projects. Now, unless you’re trying to remove the rust from your old car, get out in the garage and make your car look as though no one has touched it in 40 years.
1. Here’s what we’re starting with: a nice and rust-free fiberglass ’34 Ford coupe. Though it could easily wear a slick coat of paint to accent its features, this coupe will eventually wear a coating that resembles a well-worn hot rod from the ’60s.
2. After back-taping the holes, panel gaps and window openings, Vegas started by applying DuPont ChromaPremier sealer to the entire body. Since teal will be the primary color, and we need to have a solid base, Vegas applies two medium coats of sealer tinted with teal mixing color.
3. The DuPont sealer covers the gold paint with only one medium coat, but another coat will be sprayed after the material flashes. After covering the entire body with teal sealer, Vegas allowed the mixture to cure while cleaning the spray gun and mixing more paint.
4. This time, Vegas put the spray gun away and used a small spray bottle to splatter the DuPont ChromaBase Yellow Oxide onto the body. This will make for a textured finish that resembles rust when the process is complete.
5. Knowing where cars are most likely to rust is an important aspect of making this patina believable, and Vegas is a master. The location and severity of the rust can vary from car to car, so it’s best to study very rusty cars before tackling this kind of project.
6. Vegas splatters the Yellow Oxide paint in all the places he wants to look rusty. This coupe body has a fuel cap on the right rear quarter panel, so he sprays some paint around that area. Remembering where the Yellow Oxide is sprayed is important, too, so pay attention during this part.
7. After splattering the key areas where surface rust is likely to pop up, Vegas applied a super-light coat of Yellow Oxide basecoat with his spray bottle. Splattering the entire car will add texture and make the weathered paint much more believable.
8. Before doing any sanding, Vegas applies one coat of ChromaBase teal over the entire car to cover the Yellow Oxide splatter. One medium coat is all that’s needed, so light scuffing will bring out the spots of Yellow Oxide when it’s time to sand.
9. Making sure to stay back from the coupe, Vegas applies a very light coat of olive ChromaBase to the fiberglass body. This will add to the weathered look, and patina always looks great with a light green base.
10. After spraying a light coat of olive-green basecoat, Vegas went back into the mixing room and whipped up some Red Oxide base to resemble old lacquer primer that is wearing through the topcoat.
11. Another important aspect to making this patina look like the real deal is to apply the Red Oxide basecoat to areas on the car that were likely to have been repaired. Areas where the top chop bodywork should be performed can receive a light coat of Red Oxide.
12. Applying the Red Oxide base is easy work, as it only requires a quick blast here and there for the desired effect. The DuPont ChromaBase paint covers nicely and requires only one coat to get result Vegas is looking for.
13. After allowing the Red Oxide to cure, Vegas used 400-grit Wetordry sandpaper to scuff the fresh paint lightly. When the areas are sanded, a common enthusiast will think the Red Oxide is primer beneath the teal base, when it’s actually the other way around.
14. A light scuff of the paint changes the entire look of the car, as it takes only a few swipes to remove the top layer of paint. The Yellow Oxide basecoat created a nice texture and looks like surface rust when sanded to the proper level. Work slowly and keep track of your progress.
15. This area is a great candidate for the Red Oxide treatment, since bodywork would have been performed here if this body were steel. No taping is required; Vegas just made a few quick passes with the spray gun and will finesse the red paint with 400-grit sandpaper.
16. Depending on the location on the body, Vegas sands in a circular motion to keep from having marks from his finger show through. Even if your fingers are held tightly together, there is no way to avoid leaving streaks without lightly sanding in a circular pattern.
17. Here, Vegas has made only a few strokes over the DuPont Red Oxide paint, and a big difference is already visible. More sanding will bring out the Yellow Oxide underneath, but it’s important to work slowly or you could take it too far. But if you do mess up, just wipe it off and spray on some more color.
18. On the cowl, Vegas carefully sanded until he got the look he wanted, and it’s amazing how this weathered paint job is starting to come to life. The Yellow Oxide base provides just the right texture to simulate rust bubbles, and its hue looks like fresh rust.
19. Here’s a nice comparison between the quarter panel, which had its initial scuffing, and the door, which hasn’t been touched yet. Most of the olive basecoat will be removed, but it still adds to the detail of this cool coupe.
20. Sanding with clean water prevents debris from scratching the fresh paint, and that aspect is just as important in this case, as if Vegas was performing a super-slick paint job. The water also keeps the sandpaper from clogging up with paint.
21. Now it’s time to add the intense rust toward the bottom of the coupe, and DuPont Brown Oxide basecoat will be used to obtain this look. It basically requires the same process of spraying the desired areas, waiting for it to dry and sanding it with 400-grit sandpaper.
22. Spots of Yellow and Red Oxide are splattered onto the firewall with a spray bottle, and the same approach will be used to get the weathered-and-worn finish. The firewall rust will be a little more intense, since paint usually isn’t as thick on the firewall and rust attacks the metal a little easier.
23. Using an airbrush, Vegas adds some personality to this coupe by giving it some extra spots of color here and there. Most of this will be removed when sanding, but a little touch of detail can go a long way in making this patina paint job believable.
24. After allowing the different colors to dry, Vegas uses 400-grit sandpaper to remove some of the top layers of paint. The idea here is to work slowly and cautiously so that too much material isn’t removed.
25. After Vegas completed the firewall, he loaded his spray bottle with DuPont Brown Oxide basecoat and went to work on the heavy rust. Areas around the windows, door gaps and other edges where the paint usually doesn’t hold up get this treatment.
26. Simply splattering the paint onto the body makes for the perfect textures, and after the materials cure, Vegas can lightly scuff the paint until it fits his expectations. If he sands too far, he can always go back and apply more paint with the spray bottle.
27. Knowing where to apply the Brown Oxide basecoat is just as important as knowing how much to sand off. The easiest remedy is to look at actual rusty cars to see the patterns and areas that are likely to rust first. Here, the patina paint job is starting to take shape.
28. Some areas have yet to be sanded, but Vegas is sure to take his time with every aspect to make the paint job realistic. He spent a few days in the spray booth to obtain this killer look, but it’s something everyone should try at least once.
29. At the rear of this coupe, Vegas continues to show his expertise with paintwork, as progress continues. The decklid is nearly finished and those spots of Yellow Oxide basecoat could fool anyone into thinking this fiberglass coupe is Henry Ford steel.
30. Vegas thought this coupe could use another detail to make it slide under most hot rodders’ radar as a real steel three-window coupe. He went to another ’33 Ford in the Hi-Speed Rods and Customs shop and traced the outline of the original cowl vent so it could be transferred to the fiberglass car.
31. After using chalk to outline the cowl vent on the steel car, he transferred the markings and used 3M 1/8-inch fine-line tape to mask off a 1/4-inch-wide gap. Vegas will use his airbrushing skills to make a believable cowl vent on the smoothed fiberglass cowl.
32. After making sure the gap is uniform and accurate to factory specifications, Vegas could trim his tape and make everything clean and neat. From here, he can use lo-tack masking paper to protect the rest of the body from overspray.
33. Using a pounce-wheel, Vegas can remove the small strip of material where the black paint will be applied. The airbrush doesn’t generate much overspray, so Vegas needs only a few inches of overhang on each side.
34. The lo-tack paper is just right for this process, as it is strong enough to protect from overspray, but not too sticky to pull the paint or make tape lines. Here, you can see that the small strip has been removed, and it’s time to fire up the airbrush compressor.
35. It takes only a few passes around the artificial cowl vent for Vegas to work his magic, but it definitely takes some skill to pull this off. Fading the edges is one step to making it believable, but this step will require some sanding when the paint dries.
36. After allowing the black paint to dry, Vegas makes a few laps around the cowl vent gap with his 3M 1/8-inch fine-line tape. This will protect the black paint when he sands around the edges to enhance the weathered look.
37. A small piece of 3M 800-grit Wetordry sandpaper is used to sand along the edges of the tape. This will give the effect of the paint wearing off on edges of the panel, which is a common characteristic of a steel car.
38. The finished product is an awesome addition to the fiberglass coupe, but Vegas isn’t happy until it’s perfect. To make the cowl vent a little more believable, he adds a few more touches of paint with the airbrush.
39. With the primary painting and sanding complete, Vegas is happy with the progress, and rightfully so—this ’34 Ford looks just like a barn-fresh hot rod, even though it’s really just a fiberglass reproduction.
40. The best part of this entire painting process is that you can take the effect as far as you want. If you want the salt-flat look, you could mimic old class markings and cubic or horsepower ratings, but Vegas is using a cool shop logo for Hi-Speed Rods and Customs.
41. After plotting the Hi-Speed/Johnny Vegas logo onto lo-tack Gerber masking paper, Vegas could peel away the adhesive top layer of masking paper. This layout will act as a stencil for the logo, so someone with no lettering experience could perform this work with a little help from a vinyl sign shop.
42. Using a blue shop towel, Vegas dabbed off-white paint into the stencil to give it a rough texture. Vegas doesn’t cover it too heavily, so it looks as if this lettering is just about to fade away on the door, and he’ll lightly scuff it to intensify the effect.
43. After dabbing the off-white paint in the Hi-Speed Rods and Customs logo, he dabbed black paint around the outline of the cards and the Johnny Vegas logo. He will add red into the mix later.
44. With the Gerber masking paper still in place, Vegas made a reverse template for the cards and logo. He already applied the outline coating of black, so now he can fill everything in with white and red paint.
45. The logo already has a weathered look after removing the masking paper, but Vegas will add to the old-school appeal by outlining the letters with black. Here, he uses a small lettering brush to trace around the logo.
46. The Yellow Oxide basecoat has a dramatic effect on the off-white paint used for the letters when lightly sanded. It looks as if the letters are fading away, and Vegas uses a piece of 800-grit to lightly scuff away some of the black outline.
47. Another tip to give this logo the super-old-school look is to spray black paint lightly over the logo with an airbrush. Just a dust coat is all it needs before removing the Gerber masking tape, and a light dust coating of Yellow Oxide also adds to the aged look.
48. After scuffing over the logo and making sure the paint job met everyone’s expectations, Vegas sprayed on a few coats of DuPont 72500 Glamour clearcoat with a flattening agent added. This will protect the basecoat while keeping the weathered look.
49. The Brown Oxide does the trick to make this coupe look really rusty. And with the Yellow Oxide showing through and adding texture, this paint job looks like one that was applied some 40 years ago before years of sitting in a field.
50. One of the more important aspects of making this patina look like the real thing is to know where to make the car rusty. Vegas did an excellent job on this ’34 Ford and gave it just the right amount of rust in all the right places, such as this area around the rear pan.
51. With the entire coupe finished, it would be easy to fool anyone with this awesome creation. Vegas and the guys at Hi-Speed Rods and Customs have a killer showpiece with this chopped three-window, and they have plenty more where that came from.
52. Now the only thing necessary is to place this body with its rusted brethren at Hi-Speed Rods and Customs. The ’40 Ford woody also has artificial patina, but rest assured: the other cars are really rusty...we think.
Hi-Speed Also Likes To Shine
While Johnny Vegas and the guys at Hi-Speed Rods & Customs did an awesome job on this ’34 Ford coupe with its weathered-and-worn paint scheme, they do an excellent job with the shiny stuff, too. Hi-Speed is a well-rounded shop that creates a wide variety of vehicles, from the earliest hot rods to motorcycles and rail dragsters. Take a look at some of Hi-Speed’s other creations and see how they rack up next to the rusty ’34 Ford that was just finished. Whether it’s a traditional hot rod or a contemporary cruiser, Hi-Speed Rods & Customs builds a car with unmatched quality and an unmistakable personality. We like the wide variety of builds and the distinct styling that comes from the Hi-Speed shop. To see more photos of the shop, current project cars and completed cars, check out their website.
ARTICLE SOURCES
Hi-Speed Rods & Customs
829 East 17th Street
Tucson, Arizona 85719
(520) 623-1973
